CTA  A Very StarGlee Story
by J-StarGleek
Summary: Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry finally get to show off their talents as they are accepted into Chicago Theatre Arts School. Full summary inside. DO NOT LET THE M PUT YOU OFF! It's only their for possible later chapters...ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

**FULL SUMMARY: Kurt and Rachel get accepted into Chicago Theatre Arts School - more commonly known as CTA. For the first time, they truly fit in. Whilst at CTA, they meet Darren and slowly they learn about Starkid productions and become involved in their latset show - Starship! Don't let the M put you off - it's probably more like a T - but I'm paranoid and don't know quite how the story will evlove yet. Mix of AU Glee characters and RPF. RER - read, enjoy, review!**

**A/N - this has been chilling on my desktop for a while now, so I figured I should upload it. This is just a prologue kind of chapter to introduce the idea. Will be a multi-chapter story! **

***DISCLAIMER - AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE TO - I DO NOT OWN GLEE OR TEAM STARKID. WHICH IS SAD. I DO HOWEVER OWN ANY CHARACTERS YOU MAY NOT RECOGNISE (FORESHADOWING FOR OC'S IN LATER CHAPTERS ;D)**

"Mr Schue! I have an announcement to make!" Rachel's voice pierced through the choir room as it did at the start of every New Directions meeting.

"Yes, yes, of course Rachel. Well up you come" replied Mr Schue, beckoning for her to take the floor. Arite began to look around the room and his eyes locked on to Mercedes'. They both smirked. Rachel's announcement would be the same that it always was. "I've been working on a song dedicated to my idol Barbra, blah, blah, blah, I really think I should perform it at regional's, blah, blah, blah, I would appreciate your feedback," and then she would start singing. But this particular announcement caught them all by surprise.

"Fellow members of New Directions, you may or may not be aware that I recently auditioned to gain a scholarship enrolment to Chicago Theatre Arts school, more commonly known as CTA,"

"How can we not know about it," interrupted Santana, rolling her eyes, "it's all you've talked about for the past, like, ever!"

"Yes, well," continued Rachel, undeterred by Santana's snarky remark, "I am pleased and excited to inform you that," she paused for dramatic effect. Her eyes glowed with delight and her lips turned upwards into a smile. "I've been accepted!" she squealed.

"Wow Rachel," Mr Schue began, keeping his voice steady after the sudden announcement, "That sure is… quite an achievement! Congratulations!" He got up and gave her a small hug. He was happy for her, really he was. But with regional's coming up, and after they had gotten so close to victory last year, it was going to be a massive blow for the New Directions.

Finn looked up, his eyebrows knotted together in confusion. "So, wait…" he started. Rachel rolled her eyes. She loved Finn. Really, she did. He was her first true love (after Barbra Streisand, of course) but he was such a simpleton. "Yes, Finn, this means I'm boarding. Away from here. This is my dream and I have to follow it. I'm sorry – to all of you," Rachel added, her big, brown eyes scanning the room, soaking in the look on all of her choir mates faces. She would miss them all. But nothing, _nothing_, would ever stand in the way of her career. In the way of her future.

"Yeah, I get that," Finn said, still with a look of confusion etched on his face. "But it's just… I mean… Kurt…" He looked around to his step-brother. He didn't want to announce it for him and couldn't seem to form any proper sentences. Rachel caught on though.

"Kurt?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. Now everyone was looking confused, except for Mercedes. She looked smug, like she knew something that no one else did – she liked being the one with all the gossip!

Kurt smiled his toothless smile. "Well, looks like we're school mates again Rachel!"

**~SCENE~JUMP~**

One plane ride, a taxi journey, a goodbye dinner at Breadstix with Schue and a wild all night party at Rachel's (WITHOUT Schue) and a whole bunch of musical theatre songs later the two dreamers had arrived at the entrance gate to CTA.

Kurt squealed from pure excitement and delight. Never, in a million years, had he thought that one day he would be about to enrol in such a prestigious theatre art school. He'd always known that the raw talent was there within him, but still…

He took a deep breath and was about to enter through the gates when he felt a small hand on his upper arm holding him back. He looked down at Rachel. Her eyes were wet with tears of joy and they were opened wide in disbelief. He smiled down at her, barley able to contain yet another excited "squee" noise. "This is it, Kurt," said Rachel, her voice hardly above a whisper. "The start of our future."

Kurt took a second deep breath, closed his eyes and stepped forward though the gate. He cautiously opened his eyes. Ahead of him he could see one main, concrete building with the CTA logo embellished on the front. He was surrounded to either side by greenery; a landscape that was so beautiful. Students were dotted around outside, lounging with friends or walking to class. Somewhere in the distance a group of friends were laughing and playing guitar. Already, it was better than McKinley. It was everything he had hoped for and more. Joyfully, he did a three hundred and sixty degree turn, taking in every detail of this moment. Making a memory he would treasure forever.

When he was facing the gate again, he saw Rachel, still poised just outside the gate. He walked up to her, extremely concerned.

"What's wrong?" He studied her face for any signs of sadness. "Isn't it amazing?"

She looked around her and inhaled deeply. "Yes. It's truly amazing. But… I'm nervous Kurt. What if it all goes wrong and this is just a dream and I wake up back in Ohio? What if it isn't a dream but no one likes me here?"

Kurt stared in disbelief. Rachel – the, arguably, most confident performer in New Directions – was nervous about going to theatre school? But this was all she had ever wanted?

Kurt knew that he had to do something, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the gates and into the grounds of CTA. She almost tripped but she was laughing. A single tear glided down her cheek. It was real. She began to laugh hysterically. It was real! And with that, Kurt and Rachel, still hand in hand, ran up the gravel path to begin their CTA journey.

**A/N – looking forward to life at CTA? I hope you are! Yes, Kurt does have a toothless smile. Anyone else ever notice? Feel free to review!  
>ps - I'm not too sure about the title. It is subject to change. Any thoughts - please comment them in the review! Thanks! ~Jess :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second part! Again, I know this is quite short, but they will get longer. (I hope!) Thank you for the support for the first part! Also, to address something that Lily887787 mentioned – Kurt and Rachel are meant to be in their senior year. The school just happens to based in Chicago because that's where Starkid productions is now and CTA has a nice ring to it. There is nothing stopping them from going to New York after they graduate . I've talked too much. On with the chapter! **

Composing themselves as they entered the school door, Kurt and Rachel found themselves in the reception area. The walls were lined with artwork of all description – from photography, to fine art drawings, to music scores and script pages that students had been asked to pin up. One thing that Kurt noticed immediately was a big logo with the word 'STARKID' on it. It was in a purple haze surrounded by what appeared to be the nine planets. Above it was a logo for the same thing – 'STARKID' – yet this was a dark blue in colour with a lion jumping over the letters. All around the two logos were pictures from what looked like stage shows. He was intrigued. Kurt leant over to tap Rachel on the shoulder and point them out to her but she was already waiting at the reception desk so he went to join her.

They stood there for about five minutes, trying to catch the attention of the woman inside. A glass screen separated them and the inside of the office though they could still see inside. It looked like a bomb had gone off in a paint factory. Splashes of colour covered all of the walls. Four mobiles; the kind you would find in a baby's cot; hung down from the ceiling. There were three big lava lamps on top of desks and filing cabinets – as well as a seemingly endless number of potted plants. Papers were strewn everywhere. A notice board full of family photos was pinned up on the far wall. From where they were standing, they could see a profile view of the receptionist herself whilst she tapped away at her keyboard. Her nails were very long and they made a real 'click-clack' sound with every key that she pressed. The room was clearly a reflection of her own personality. On top of her head was a wide brimmed hat with a sunflower poking out of it. From underneath the hat, her long blond hair, which had been secured in a pony tail, flowed out. She was wearing a rainbow tie-dye baggy t-shirt and a long beige skirt. Her feet were tapping in rhythm to something. They were bare, but positioned under her desk were a pair of crocks – presumably which she had taken off when she arrived for work.

Rachel looked up at Kurt, bewildered. It felt so different to McKinley. It was a good different for sure; it would just take some getting used to. The receptionist looked round her shoulder and did a double take at Kurt and Rachel before rolling over to them on her office chair.

"Why hello there, young ones," she began. Her voice was soft and melodic. She had a slight British accent – though neither of them could identify the exact place.

"Um, hi," replied Kurt tentatively. "We are both transfer students here. It's our first day today. We're from Ohio." Rachel nodded in agreement.

"Oh, how lovely for you!" the woman declared. "Well, I'm Mrs Owens, though most people just call me Julie around here," and with that, she glided back to her computer.

Kurt looked down at Rachel for guidance. What were they supposed to do now? Judging by the look on her face, she was just as confused as he was. They knocked again and Julie reappeared at the front of the office by the window.

"Yes, chuckies, how may I help you?" she asked with a warm, welcoming smile.

Rachel smiled back, revealing her own dazzling grin. "Well, we were wondering… where are we supposed to go?" she asked.

Julie looked up at the clock that was hanging on the wall. "Class started fifteen minutes ago! Golly gee, what are you two still doing here? Ah, that's right, first day. So," she scooted around the office on her chair picking up odd bits of paper and forms. Once she was back at the window she handed them both a mini-student pack. "This has your timetables and your student card within. Both will be your best friends whilst you are here at CTA. Now you really should get going to class. I'm sure someone will be able to help you find your way around and explain more about life here but really I am busy." She looked at them with genuine concern – as if she was actually really disappointed that she would not be able to help them further.

Suddenly, the door behind them flew open, letting in a draft of cold air. A boy stumbled through the door and almost landed flat on his face. Luckily, he regained his footing and with flailing arms he skidded round the corner and out of sight. Rachel and Kurt both looked at each other at the same time. Their eyebrows were raised in shock at the mystery boy. Julie opened her door to the office and called, "Darren! I need your help!" down the hall. About a minute later, the boy reappeared, slightly out of breath.

"Hey Julie, look, I'd really love to help you fix your computer again, but I desperately need to get to Improv, so I'm just going to go." He was about to run off again when Julie stopped him. Chuckling slightly, she replied, "oh no pet, the computer's fine, it's these two I need you to take care of." And once again, she vanished back into her office out of sight, leaving Kurt and Rachel alone with the mystery boy, Darren.

**A/N – I just imagine all the teachers to be slightly eccentric; just like the pupils I guess! Darren just seems like the type of person who leaves things till the last minute… Hope you liked! Let me know what you think by leaving me a review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**So, sorry i haven't updated in a while. Life has been busy! But never fret, I'm here. I'm going to try and get another chapter up before too long, as I will be without a computer for a while. We'll see how that goes. Anyway, on with chapter 3!**

Kurt and Rachel studied the boy who, just moments ago, had burst into the school in a mad panic. However, this was juxtaposed with how he looked now. Darren looked the pinnacle of laid-back. His unruly, black, curly mob of hair bounced around whenever he moved his head. Thin black wire glasses rested on his face. Even though he had these glasses on, they didn't distract from his eyes. They were the type of eyes that told a story and it was easy to lose yourself in their glow. Brown, green and gold all merged in to one; the three colours running and intertwining with one another in his iris. Darren smiled. It was deep – the kind of grin that spread through his entire face; not just his mouth. A smile like that is incredibly infectious.

Despite him being relatively short, he had a great presence. A black t-shirt with a faded logo for a Beatles album fit neatly over his thin frame. His hands lay inside his jean pockets. His feet never stopped moving – even though he was stationary. They were shuffling against the floor and each other, creating even more scuff marks on the well worn hot pink converse he was wearing. Darren began to whistle a sweet tune and at the same time he produced an I-PHONE from his pocket. When he saw the time, the whistling stopped immediately. "Holy crap!" he shouted. He was about to restart his rushing phase when he remembered Kurt and Rachel.

"Look," he said, staring at them both straight in the eye. When he spoke, he had a really relaxed kind of voice, even though he was in a rush. Clearly he was from the West Coast as he spoke with a slight drawl on his A's. His voice was deep and powerful, yet also gentle and somewhat magical. "I would really love to help you and stuff, but I am so late for my class so you guys just tag along with me now and we'll sort you out fully at lunch, okay? Okay!" He flashed them thumbs up and another gorgeous smile before dashing off. Kurt was the first to realise that Darren had wanted them to go to and so both Rachel and Kurt sprinted down the hallway along with Darren.

Finally, they reached the classroom. It was a massive hall with a white screen at the front. Chatter and laughter from the other students floated around the room. Props were spilling out of cupboards in every corner. Both Kurt and Rachel were smiling foolishly to themselves, just so giddy with joy to be here at CTA. A flicker of concern flashed across Rachel's face as she realised that, in their dash to follow Darren, they had both left their trunks abandoned at the reception. However, this was overcome with her curiosity to explore CTA life further and Darren was beckoning to the two new comers to venture deeper into the room.

"Whoa! You got a lightsaber!" Darren's face lit up in happiness as he ran over to a thin blond boy who was carrying the prop. Darren gasped as he admired the toy. "That is so cool!" He began to dance a little in excitement. Kurt laughed. He liked Darren and the fact that actually they were both feeling the same way – except Kurt's giddiness was over CTA whereas Darren's joy was coming from a blue plastic toy. It was childish but cute and entertaining. "Let me hold it! I'm going to hold it now!" announced Darren, taking it into his own hands. He began running around, mock shooting people with it. The blond boy just laughed and ambled over to where Kurt and Rachel were standing. "That's classic Darren," he informed them before gliding off to somewhere else.

Darren skipped merrily over to the two newcomers. He was about to speak about the lightsaber when someone in the distance caught his eye. "Julia?" he exclaimed, surprise evident in his voice. He waved his arms above his head, grinning. As if out of nowhere, a girl appeared at Kurt's side. She looked very much like Rachel, actually, except she had lighter hair, was slightly taller and had a much better fashion sense.

"Darren," she replied, calmly, as if she was used to being greeted like that.

"You never come to Improv!" Darren said, wrapping his arms around the girl and hugging her.

She hugged him back, laughing. When they broke away she answered. "I still don't come to Improv! I was just here helping Brian this morning; I'm about to go join Jamie at vocal now." Darren nodded wisely. Rachel, who had had her head down the entire time, suddenly perked up. She looked at Julia, her eyes hopeful. "Um, hi," she began. "I'm new here and I don't think acting's really my thing. Do you think it would be … um …" Rachel faltered, her eyes flicking between Julia, Darren and Kurt. "Do you think it would be possible if I joined you in the vocal class?" she finished, her voice diminishing to a near whisper at the end.

Rachel had expected Julia to laugh at her, or say no, but to her surprise and delight, Julia linked arms with her. "Sure!" she smiled "Me and Jamie would love to have someone new!" Julia began to lead her away from the main group. She called back, without turning her head, "Meet us for lunch in the hall!" before exiting the room; Rachel in tow.

Kurt felt slightly alone. He wasn't sure about Improv either but with Rachel gone … he glanced at Darren who still seemed fascinated by the blue toy. However, Darren sensed Kurt's worry and flashed him one of his stunning smiles. "Scene class isn't acting, it's more improvisation. Its real fun! But, if you don't enjoy it, we'll swap your class for next week. I just don't really wanna let you go now, in case you get lost or something." Darren sounded like he genuinely cared. In that moment, Kurt was almost overwhelmed with emotion. The people like here were all so welcoming; it was reassuring to know that they seemed to have accepted him for just being himself, even if he didn't really know any of them. He just wanted to bend down and squeeze Darren tightly in a thank you, but he quickly regained his composure and just gave a small nod and a smile back. Darren went to sit with a group of friends on the floor. Kurt immediately regretted his earlier emotion. In the blink of an eye, Darren had abandoned him, been sucked into his own little world. Kurt had been foolish to even think that… "Oi Kurt!" called the now familiar voice of Darren. "Come over here! I have some people for you to meet!"

Kurt paced slowly over to the group. The past year at McKinley had changed him and he felt that he would have to learn to trust again. However, he also knew that here was probably the best place to learn that lesson. Kurt smiled to himself, as he realised that everything was going to be okay.

**A/N – I just had to write that last bit for Kurt! I felt so sorry for him during the whole Karofsky period! (I know he's fictional, but I'm such a gleek! Don't judge :3) Darren getting excited over a lightsaber… could totally see that happening. Also, prepare for more Rulia friendship (see what I did there? Couple name subject to change…) They'd make good friends in my opinion! Any comments? Review! **


	4. Chapter 4

Kurt sat down on the floor tentatively and crossed his legs. He felt so formal compared to everyone else in the group. Two of them were stretched out on their stomachs and the rest were lounging in a position that was somewhere between sitting and lying down. He was pretty sure that one of them was in pyjamas. He felt something heavy settle on his shoulders. It was Darren, who had looped his arm around Kurt. Kurt stared at it, not quite sure how to respond. No one had ever really been this … personal with him. He'd only met Darren twenty minutes ago, for crying out loud!

"Everybody, this is my man Kurt," Darren said, addressing the group. "Be nice and friendly now, you hear me? Oh and Kurt," Darren swivelled his head round so that he was now staring Kurt straight in the eye. "We don't bite." he said, his eyes glowing.

"Although Meredith can get pretty feisty," someone chipped in. Meredith gave a sarcastic glare to the person who had made the comment and gave him the middle finger which caused the two boys to collapse into fits of giggles.

Meredith rolled over onto her side. She had mocha coloured skin and very tight curly black hair that she had fixed into position with a bulldog clip. She was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a white shirt. _Understated, yet classy and really emphasises her beautiful figure_, _though her shoes could be better, and maybe a black blazer would complete the look even more_, thought Kurt, the designer in his brain whirling. Meredith smiled at him.

"Have you ever thought about wearing a blazer with that top?" asked Kurt. He immediately recoiled; shocked that he had actually said that out loud. Meredith's eyebrows almost hit her hairline and Darren had to stifle a laugh. Kurt could feel his cheeks burning. "I…. I'm so sorry… I," he mumbled.

"Kurt, relax," Meredith said though her giggles. "I'm not laughing at you at all. I'm just, um, yeah," she continued, coughing slightly. "No I have not considered wearing a blazer with this top. Although maybe I should." Kurt nodded enthusiastically. "I really think it would help to complete the look as a whole," he stated, feeling more confident in himself.

"We so need to introduce this guy to Corey!" said the boy in his pyjamas. A chorus of "yeah"'s and agreeing nods came from the group. The boy leaned back onto his arms and smiled. He reminded Kurt of the Cheshire Cat. Kurt was about to ask something when the door swung open. A male figure stood at the door, dressed in jeans, shirt and tie. _So, this must be the teacher._

"I'll ignore that some of you were late," he said, pointing at Darren, who looked mock surprised at the accusation, "if you'll ignore that I'm the latest!" He let the door shut behind him and he bounded over to the front of the group. The boy with the Cheshire Cat smile looked offended and he stood up dramatically.

"I thought the whole point of this class was to make stuff up!" he shouted at the teacher. Kurt gasped slightly in shock that he was standing up to an authority figure like that. Beside him, Daren snorted in amusement. Clearly this happens a lot but Kurt didn't know any better so Kurt shot Darren a withering look. "That was adorable," Darren whispered; his eyes locked onto Kurt's. He gulped loudly. Then Darren turned his attention back to the standing boy; much to Kurt's relief. The boy continued, his eyebrows raised. "It's not improv if someone already wrote that line! Meaning, don't steal my line!" The teacher crossed the room, pointing at the boy.

"Brian, that was very rude of you, detention! I'm just kidding that was improv! Learn! Sit!" he concluded by ruffling Brain's hair as he sat down. "Ooh a new person!" The teacher spun around and sat down directly in front of Kurt. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head into his cupped hands. Kurt could feel the entire classes' eyes staring at him. True, the class was small, but he was so desperate to impress them and they were all staring at him and oh god, he felt faint. The only thing keeping him grounded was Darren's arm which still sat upon Kurt's shoulders. "And who might you be?" asked the teacher, blinking innocently, earning a round of giggles from the class.

"Kurt, Kurt Hummel" His voice was barely audible but the teacher still managed to hear him as he was sitting so close. "You need to loosen up, Kurt Hummel!" the teacher announced in his booming voice. "And that is not an innuendo!" he exclaimed as he returned to his standing position. Kurt turned red, right the way up to his ears and hairline, but everyone else was laughing hysterically. The blonde boy that had had lightsaber was setting up two chairs at the front of the room. "I think Kurt Hummel should go through initiation, sir," he said, whilst dashing off to the costume closet.

"Initiation!" Kurt said, turning to face Darren. He sighed and called, "Joe, it is not an initiation!" before turning back to Kurt.

"Joe played the character of Snape when we put on a Harry Potter musical last year," Darren explained to Kurt. "He likes to put on these little improv interviews as if he were Snape," Darren continued, his hands gesturing as he spoke. "When he says 'initiation', he means he wants you to do one of the interviews. It'll just be some really stupid odd questions and you just have to improvise around what he's saying. It's nothing major, just a bit of fun." Then he leaned in a bit closer and lowered his voice so Kurt was the only one who could hear, "but you do not by any means have to do it if you don't want to." Kurt surveyed the class looking at their hopeful faces. He looked at Joe, who was now sitting on one of the two chairs, dressed as his character. Kurt knew he was witty. And hey, maybe it would help him be accepted here; give him a group of friends. So he shrugged off Darren's arm and walked over to the front. Joe smiled at him – evidently please that Kurt had decided to do this – before starting the interview. With his wig and odd accent designed specifically for the role, he began. "Hello, and welcome to the Potion Masters Corner…"

**~SCENE~JUMP~**

Meanwhile, Rachel had only just arrived at her classroom. It seemed to be on the opposite side of the school and she was so glad that Julia was kind enough to direct her all of the way, even when she had many opportunities to just leave Rachel on her own. When they arrived there was a girl already in the room. She was sitting on a small plastic chair, scrolling through something on her phone. A young woman stood at the piano, tapping out a few notes. Julia pointed to the girl on her phone, "That's Jaime," she explained. At the sound of her name, Jaime looked up and pulled a funny face at Rachel. She had brown hair that had been cropped short around her cheekbones. She was dressed in sweatpants, a vest top and flip-flops. Her eyes were bright blue with crinkles at the side – something which Rachel's dads had always called laughter lines.

"Oh, good, Julia, you're here!" exclaimed the woman standing by the piano. "Yes, yes, both of you, come in sit, sit. Now let's start with some scales. Ready? And, a-1, 2, 3, 4..."

**~SCENE~JUMP~**

"So apparently, you got talent," Darren said, friendly nudging Rachel in the ribs as he guided her over to the table. She smiled, careful not to let her food fall. She was ecstatic that Julia and Jamie had said that about her. Their voices were equally as stunning and she had never expected such high praise from her two classmates.

They both sat down, closely followed by Kurt. The table they were sat at was by far the largest group in the cafeteria. Darren was sat in the middle of Kurt and Rachel. Between the two of them, the new pupils were happy to know that they recognised most faces in the group already; Brian, Joe and Jaime. However, there were two boys sitting at the head of the table, deep in conversation. They kept speaking in different accents a lot of the time. Kurt tapped Darren lightly.

"Who are they?" he whispered. Rachel listened in too, intrigued to know as well.

"That's Nick," he said pointing to the one on the left. "And that's Dylan," he gestured to the other boy "They're coming up with a voice for Dylan's new character in our show." Kurt nodded and resumed eating. Rachel was about to ask more about what the show was, when Nick started talking.

"Hey, hey Darren," he called, looking up from his paper. "Look, Brian and I have written twenty seven more pages of script. That makes a total sixty three. How many songs have you written?" he questioned, one eyebrow raised, his voice mocking. Darren chuckled slightly.

"I will write them when the time is right," Darren said, as only a true artist would. "You can't rush the music making process."

Nick sighed. "Just make sure they're all finished at least a month before we open. I actually want to do this show well, make it the most professional, you know?"

"I promise you this Nick, they will be done at least a month before the show opens," Darren replied, looking him straight in the eye, without blinking.

"Good." Nick said shortly, before reaching over and pinching a slice chicken from Darren's plate of food.

The conversation continued; Dylan and Nick working, Brian recalling a tale of something that happened at summer camp and Darren explaining to Rachel and Kurt how the student cards worked. A bell sounded. Lunch was wrapping up now – the hatches were beginning to close and tables were being folded away. A short girl bounced over to the group.

"So, how many of you guys are heading to dance right now?" she asked, smiling. Nick, Jaime and Joe all shook their heads and got up to leave for their other lessons. That left Darren, Rachel, Kurt, Brian and Dylan. Brian stood up.

"Sure, Lauren, I'll come to dance."

"Yey!" she squealed, clapping her hands together slightly.

Kurt stood up. "Is it alright if I came too?" Rachel looked shocked, but she also admired Kurt for stepping out of his natural comfort zone and embracing all of the classes CTA had to offer.

Lauren looked up at Kurt. "Of course!" she said, before adding, "Just so you know, you don't need any formal training or anything." Brain snorted at this remark, which made it clear to Kurt that Lauren was a trained dancer. She turned her attention back to the group who were still sat down.

"Dyl, you coming?" she questioned.

Dylan stared at her blankly before leaning forward and asking, "Lauren, how long have you known me?"

"About three years," the reply came.

"How many times have you asked me if I'm going to dance?"

"A lot."

"How many times have I said 'yes'?"

"None yet, but there's a first time for everything," she said, her big eyes glowing with hope.

"Yeah? Well, that day isn't today!" concluded Dylan, "I've got vocal," and so he exited the hall.

Darren stood up to leave too. "Well, I'm off to song writing," he announced.

Brian snorted again. "Dude, if there's one thing you don't need a class in, it's that!" he laughed. "Come to dance!"

"I'd love to, but Carlos isn't taking song writing in this time slot anymore, so I promised AJ I'd go. The only other person in the class is Leo." The two more experienced pupils nodded knowingly. Darren continued, "If I leave them in a class alone together, AJ's gonna end up murdering one of the two!" Lauren laughed, before leaving for dance, Brian and Kurt in toe.

Darren turned back to Rachel. "That just leaves you," he said, eyebrows raised quizzically.

"Is it okay if I came with you to song writing?" she asked.

"Sure!" Darren replied loudly. He grabbed her hand and together they ran down the corridor. Rachel liked the feel of Darren's hand in hers. _I love this school_, her mind confirmed.

**A/N – so, that chapter seems a lot longer than the others. Yes, in my mind, they go to class in pyjamas. Just because they're theatre kids, I suppose :P. And the Brian is Holden; just to make sure there's no confusion. Also, sorry if the vocal class seemed like a cop-out compared to the improv class, but I really wanted to get to the lunch bit. A lot of this fanfic is going to be focused on the social element of the school, rather than the classes themselves. Like I said before, the show is STARSHIP! And Darren was eating a chicken salad in my mind… don't know why, he just was! Hint to an OC in the next chapter… I know we all hate OC's but I'm planning on writing two into this fanfic, just to make things more interesting… more to come on that! Oh, and yes, Rachel /might/ just be developing a crush on Darren. Cliché, I am aware, but hey, who ISN'T charmed by the wonder that is Darren Freaking Criss? Wow, long authors note :L! Comments welcome, just leave me a review! I'd love to read them! ALSO, SORRY BUT THIS WILL BE MY LAST CHAPTER UPLOAD ON THIS STORY FOR A WHILE! I'VE PUT IT ON HAITUS! AGAIN, SORRY, BUT I WANT TO CLEAR MY HEAD AND WRITE DIFFERENT THINGS! HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING IT ANYWAY, AND THERE MAY BE SOME MORE IN THE FUTURE!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Kurt found himself in a wide hall. Mirrors lined two walls. A grand piano stood in the far corner, along with a high-tech sound system. Two pupils were already in there, stretching in warm up. The class instructor stood at the front, advising them on stretches to help them loosen their muscles.

Lauren immediately began to do the same. She bent over in every which way possible in her stretches. Kurt's jaw hung wide open and he could hear Brian chuckling beside him.

"She sure is flexible," he mused. Brian and Kurt decided to pair up for their stretches; copying each other's moves. It was clear to Kurt that the three other students were all of a higher ability level than both himself and Brian, but it really didn't seem to matter to anyone. As they stretched, Brian informed Kurt about the dance lessons and told him about the other two students in the studio. The girl was called Devin and loved to speak with a southern accent and the male was Jim. The only information Brian gave about him was that he was tall. Very tall.

About five minutes later, the instructor called them all into the centre of the room. She looked at each one of them in the eye, as if bracing herself for something. Then she let out a deep breath that she had been holding in and said, "What style of dance should we do this term?"

As soon as the last word had left her mouth, three out of the five students practically exploded in comments. Kurt visibly winced at the sudden outburst. Obviously, this happened every semester. Brian was trying to persuade them into street dance, Lauren was arguing for ballet, and the other girl was fighting the corner for tap dance. The noise level in the room rose to an almost deafening level as they battled it out. Suddenly, a deep booming voice came from the one student in the room who had not yet spoken.

"I would very much like to explore the world of interpretive dance this semester." Everyone stopped; the room sounded so eerily quiet after the volume of noise there had been a second ago; and turned to look up quizzically at Jim. Kurt had to bite down on his lip hard to stop himself from laughing. Jim's voice was just so comical that he sounded funny whatever he said. The tall boy began to speak again.

"However, I would also be partial to seeing if I could street dance," he finished. Brian ran over to the tall boy and gave him a fist bump as Jim had backed up his choice for dance style. Before the two girls could think of a comeback, the instructor intervened.

"Street dance it is then!" she announced.

**~SCENE~JUMP~**

Rachel and Darren slowed down as they finally reached the classroom door. They were panting slightly. Their eyes locked and Rachel could feel a blush rising through her body. She was suddenly aware of every little detail of Darren's face and the fact that his hand was still gripping tightly onto hers. She allowed herself to smile slightly.

Suddenly, a short, discordant sound pierced the couple's thoughts. Someone sounded angry. Darren broke away from the grasp and entered the room with Rachel. There were two boys already in there; one had platinum blonde hair and was leaning cockily on top of the piano. The other one was sitting on the stool, his hands resting gently on the keys. The sitting boy began to shout at the other.

"No, Leo! I do not have to put an F sharp there, that would change the key signature; I like this key signature, it works best with no accidentals, before you say that the F sharp would be an accidental note not a key signature change, this is my piece of music, I don't want to change it, I like it how it is so stop giving your suggestions because they aren't helpful, they are just plain annoying, so leave me alone and SHUT UP!" By the end of his rant his voice had crescendoed into a yell and his face had turned red (due to anger, but partially because he did not pause for breathe during his speech). He rested his elbows heavily onto the keys; producing yet another dissonant noise.

Darren coughed from the corner, alerting the boys to both his and Rachel's presence. The blonde boy's face fell a little at the sight of the pair. However, in contrast, the other boy's face lit up. He quickly strode across the room and tackled Darren into a hug. He spoke into Darren's ear – but just loud enough so the remaining two could still hear.

"Thank dead god you're here. I would have killed myself if it was just me and Leo!"

A sneer emanated form Leo's mouth as he sat down on the recently vacated stool. Finally, the two boys broke away from the hug. From what Darren had said before about the class – if the blonde boy was Leo, the other must be AJ.

AJ and Darren began chatting away possible about song lyrics. Rachel stood there, feeling slightly awkward, until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and came face to face with Leo. He took her hand. Whereas Darren's hand had been soft and sweet, Leo's was large and was clinging on too hard.

"Why, hello, fair maiden," Leo spoke softly before bringing her hand up to his lips and placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles. AJ and Darren looked at each other at the same time, eyebrows raised. As if they were mind reading, they both turned to the side and pretended to vomit. Rachel laughed. Leo looked angry.

"Oh, how mature," he commented, finally letting go of Rachel's hand.

AJ was laughing behind her and Darren replied, "Dude, I actually could taste the barf in my mouth!" This just caused both himself and AJ to collapse into a heap of laughter. Tears flowed from their eyes. They were clutching the sides of the stomachs due to cramps. As the flow of hysteria began to calm down, Leo fell over the piano stool, causing them to begin their fits once again. Darren actually fell onto the floor, dragging AJ down with him. They were struggling to breathe and couldn't get up. Rachel was panicking. She had no idea what to do. Luckily, the teacher entered the classroom. He cast his eye over the two boys rolling on the floor, gasping for breath, as if it happened often, and instead began talking to Rachel about her abilities and background in composing. He was in his early thirties and had black hair. His name was Mr Davies, he informed the new girl, but everyone called him Mr D. Rachel liked the man; he was a bit like Mr Schue, just more focused on music. When Darren and AJ had regained some form of composure, the four students brought chairs into the centre of the room and Mr D began his lesson.

**~SCENE~JUMP~**

After Mr D had welcomed the four students to song writing and talked Rachel through how the class would work they were let lose in the room to find an instrument and begin work on whatever they chose as a topic. They would have to perform the song at the end of the lesson – no matter whether it was complete or not. Leo immediately took a flute from his bag and settled himself in the far corner. Darren took his guitar and followed AJ to the piano where the two friends worked and chatted. Rachel could not play an instrument so decided that there was no need for her to get up. Instead she began to write on her notebook. The thought of having to perform a song in front of three people evidently more experienced than her terrified Rachel at first, but she soon just focused on topic. She had decided to write about her first day so far. 'Like they say, write about what you know!' she thought.

About a verse into her song, she hit a hurdle and decided to consult a rhyming dictionary for inspiration. As she walked over to the shelf, she heard a snippet of conversation from Darren and AJ. They were talking in harsh whispers. AJ was speaking as Rachel passed,

"What happened to Aimee over summer break then? Did she contact you, Mr Lover Boy?"

Darren looked mock offended and slapped his arm playfully. Rachel's heart sank. Aimee, Mr Lover Boy … she was smart enough to put two and two together in her head. Darren had a girlfriend. Of course he has a girlfriend! He's so charming, fun to be with and effortlessly cool that she had been a little naïve to think that she had a chance with him. However, the reply shocked her slightly, whilst also restoring her hope.

"Actually, no," said Darren, looking back down at his guitar. He continued speaking, "I knew she was in Europe but I had not one attempt. I didn't even see her at lunch today! You know," his eyes connected with AJ's again. "I don't know if she's even come back to CTA." AJ held Darren's stare until the shorter boy pulled away and strummed on the guitar strings. Quickly, Rachel grabbed her dictionary and returned to her seat. As hard as she tried to regain the focus on the lyrics again, her mind kept drifting back to the mysterious Aimee character.

Mr D's voice brought the four students out of their song and back into the class. It was now time to showcase their work. Leo boldly went first and played a sweet tune on his flute. Darren pretended to fall asleep about three bars into the music and AJ had to bite his lip to stop the eruption of giggles. Darren however was less subtle and put his fist in his mouth and shut his eyes tightly to try and conceal his laughter – though this only made AJ want to burst even more. Rachel didn't know what had gone on between the three boys, but there was clearly a rivalry against Leo. She had yet to figure out why. Next, she went up, sang her verse and immediately sat back down again. Darren connected with her eyes and he gave her a thumbs up and a broad smile. She felt herself flush at the gesture. AJ strode over to the piano for his song where he began to play. He let himself sway with the music, his fingers gliding easily over the keys. Rachel watched in awe. At the back of her mind, she was wondering if she had understood the assignment wrong. Darren stepped up to the floor with his guitar. He began to pick at each individual string, the melody floating around the room. Rachel's panic heightened as she realised that she was the only one with lyrics. That was until, Darren began to sing.

_It starts with not questioning the answers_

_And giving up before you've begun. _

_It locks all the doors, increases the pressure_

_And in a flash your time is up before it's done. _

_And you don't know, _

_How it can feel. _

_To feel at all. _

There was a short pause in the song. Rachel studied the boy in front of her. She loved the way his hands moved swiftly over the strings. She loved the way his curls rattled with every gesture of his head. She loved the way his eyes glowed as he sang. She loved his voice – that deep, strong baritone voice – that was so clear and perfect it could cut diamonds. She loved his creativity and the way his song was structured. Her eyes reluctantly peeled away from Darren, and she could see that she was not the only one entranced. Mr D and AJ definitely felt it too; even Leo looked impressed (though he would never admit it). Then Darren launched into the chorus of his song – strumming the guitar with confident strokes as he sang:

_So I say, _

_No-oo-oo_

_To status qu-oo-oo,_

_Who wants to be like the rest_

_And deny the best that I'm meant for?_

_I will sho-oo-ow_

_The status quo-oo-oo_

_Who cares about normal? _

_I'll never conform, _

_I'll be content to resent the _

_Status qu-oo-oo._

All too soon the song was over. The four people from the audience spontaneously burst into applause. Mr D began to talk to Darren about the song, whilst the other three packed away. Darren revealed that he was planning on giving it another verse before handing it over to Nick to be used in the latest show. Mr D clapped his hands in excitement. The bell rang above their heads and Mr D wished them on their way. Darren caught up with Rachel outside.

"Come on," he said, once again encasing her hand in his. "We'll go meet the others at the dance studio. Then Lauren can take you over to the Girls Dorm, and Kurt can come back to the Boy's Dorm with me."

Rachel didn't argue; she just let herself be led away by Darren. What she didn't see was AJ pulling out his phone to text his friend, Nick Lang.

_**You owe me $20. – AJ**_

_**: ( why? – N**_

_**She so has the hots for Darren. – AJ**_

_**How does he do it? EVERY GIRL IN THE EFFING SCHOOL LOVES HIM! – N**_

_**He's just a charismatic humanitarian – AJ **_

_**Fine, you win. THIS TIME! – N**_

**A/N – so the chapters are getting longer and longer. I just had to add in the bit with AJ and Nick at the end for a nice way to round off the chapter. Hope it doesn't suck:P. Jim Povolo is a FREAKING COMEDY LEGEND DUDE! Everything that leaves that boys mouth is funny. Also, who is the mysterious Aimee? Just in case you didn't know, the song is Status Quo from STARSHIP… watch?v=Zuf15u4Ur60 … I always love to hear from you – alert and review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so there's been a bit of a time jump – not by much though! I skipped the characters all meeting at the dance studio. So we are going to straight to the dorms. This is the girl's dorm. Read on… **

**CHAPTER 6**

Rachel and Lauren entered the common room. It was circular in shape and acted as a living room for all of the girls; complete with three computers, a couch and many armchairs as well as a large TV mounted on the main wall. There were corridors leading off the main room with dorms. Rachel's initial thought was that there were not enough rooms but as Lauren pointed out there weren't that many students as entry to the school was done by an audition process. The shorter girl led Rachel down the third corridor. All of the doors had whiteboards on the front on where the people inside the room could post their names or messages such as 'Do not wake me up' which was actually posted on one of the doors. Lauren stopped outside a door which had the words "It's just Lauren and Julia people!" written on the front.

"We have a room of four, but our other two roommates just graduated last year." Lauren said. Rachel looked deflated at her comment. The fact that Lauren and Julia had already claimed the room as just theirs made Rachel worry as to where she was meant to go. Lauren then proceeded to swipe her student card through the designated slot on the door which left the room unlocked. Lauren walked in whereas Rachel just stood awkwardly in the corridor. Soon, however, Lauren appeared at the door again.

"Don't you want to see your room?" Lauren asked Rachel, a grin on her face. Rachel returned the smile and entered the dorm. She could hear Lauren call from further into the room, "We'll change the sign outside in a bit!"

Rachel studied her new room. There was a small kitchen area. It was very basic – a mini fridge stood in the corner and the rest was worktops. There was a sink and oven too. There was also a toaster and coffee machine though they did not look like they belonged to the school. There was a table with four chairs surrounding it to eat on. Leading off from the kitchen there was a bathroom which was incredibly clean. Light from the florescent bulb danced across the white tiles around the sink and shower areas. She delved further into the room to find four beds – one in each corner of the room. Each bed had a small bedside table next to it. There were two wardrobes along the back wall. Lauren was sitting on one of the already claimed beds. She gestured for Rachel to take the one vertically in line with hers. It seemed Julia was next to Rachel. Rachel was about to ask where her trunk was. However, as if Lauren could read her mind, she pointed to underneath the bed Rachel was now sat upon. Someone – probably Julia – had brought the trunk into the room already from the reception. Smiling, the girl began to unpack whilst Lauren went outside to rewrite the whiteboard on the front of the door. About half an hour later, Rachel was almost unpacked when Julia walked in, admiring Lauren's new sign as she went. With Julia now inside, Lauren ambled into the kitchen area to see what there was for dinner.

"How come you guys already have food?" Rachel asked as both she and Julia sat down at the table.

"Well, CTA provide you with basic foods at first; bread, cheese, milk, ground coffee and pasta. Nothing special." Julia explained. "However, students are allowed to leave campus to get food on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings – as well as if they have their weekend passes."

"We'll explain those too at some point!" Lauren interrupted whilst still preparing the salad.

Julia then continued. "Plus, Lauren and I know how the school works. So we collaborated from home and brought a few things with in our trunks. Then last night, Lauren went out and got some fresh stuff for the week." Rachel looked a bit bewildered. Julia smiled softly at her. "I know it sounds like a lot. But you get used to life at CTA. The great thing about it is that it kind of prepares you for adult life, you know?" Rachel nodded, because even though she hadn't experienced it yet, from what Julia was telling her it definitely did. Lauren had now finished the three salads and the girls were eating and chatting about their classes that day. As well as this, the two CTA veterans were explaining more details to Rachel – like where the washing machines were and exactly how the weekend passes worked.

After their dinner, Rachel and Lauren did the washing up whilst Julia went to the common room to see what was going on. She ran back to the dorm to inform the girls that American Idol was on. Washing abandoned, the three roommates went to the common room to join most of the girls in watching the reality singing competition. However, Rachel was only half concentrating on the programme. She took the time to use the computers whilst they were free. First, she sent quick emails to Finn and Mercedes telling them that both she and Kurt had had a great first day, before sending a more detailed one to her two dads about how letting her come to Chicago Theatre Arts School was the best decision they ever made.

**And, after that triple update, CTA is going ON HAITUS! I want to write something different. The triple update was just what I had on my computer from before but now I'm taking a break from this world. Sorry guys! Thanks for reading anyway! :)  
><strong>**(I'll probably still be uploading other things so stick around! Also, this might not be the end of the story, I will try and return to it in the future)  
>~ JStarGleek xo<strong>


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